Entrepreneurs on the clock and the Zino winners

Those were among the ideas presented Tuesday at the second annual Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum, an all-day event in which 28 entrepreneurs from a variety of industries competed for $150,000 in prize money and the attention of Seattle angel investors.

With just five minutes to convince investors of the moneymaking possibilities of their companies, a few entrepreneurs in the preliminary rounds ran out of time before they could finish their slide shows.

“Time!” yelled a judge as Sampa Chief Executive Paul Gross neared the end of his presentation. “Thank you,” responded Gross, who had yet to describe the financial terms of his latest investment round.

Others resorted to quick sound bites to describe what they do. Robert Brown, president and CEO of Healionics Corp., called his Redmond startup the “GoreTex of biomaterials,” while ITNetworks co-founder Pascal Stolz referred to his six-person company as
“eHarmony for IT.”

Despite the challenge of trying to condense months of research into a few minutes, some welcomed the pressure.

“It helps you understand how to refine your story for an audience that is likely going to be your customer at the end of the day,” said Stolz, who, in addition to pitching his startup at the Zino event, has made the rounds at investment forums in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Silicon Valley in recent weeks. At the end of the month, he hopes to have about $1 million in capital lined up.

Braincandy founder Sam Reich-Dagnen was one of six finalists chosen to give 10-minute presentations later in the day. Even though she has presented the children’s DVD business on numerous occasions, she described the Zino event as a “great big game of Survivor.”

At the end of the day, Reich-Dagnen — whose company recently scored $1 million in financing and is now looking for $5 million more — didn’t capture the big dollars. (However, she was chosen as the “best presenter” by the attendees.)

The big winner of the day was END//Outdoor, a Portland company that is developing environmentally friendly trail running shoes and other outdoor products. The company won two awards and $100,000 as the best non-technology company and best overall investment opportunity.

“We are so blown away, beyond words,” said co-founder Ben Finklea after struggling to hold up two oversized checks from the Zino Society.

The remainder of the money went to Healionics, which won first place for best technology investment. The University of Washington spin-out, looking to raise $1.5 million, is developing biomaterials for use in tissue regeneration. It’s first being tested as a treatment for glaucoma in dogs.

Angel investors who attended the event said they were impressed with the quality of companies, with several saying it was tough to choose a winner.

“There are some amazing inventions here,” said Charles Stevens, who spent 22 years at Microsoft and is a new member of the Zino Society. Stevens, who described the event as a “last person standing” competition, said he was impressed by Healionics as well as a number of the clean-tech startups that presented.

Brant Williams, an angel investor who also helps startups with sales efforts, said it is amazing to watch entrepreneurs — who put everything on the line — present their ideas.

“There were some great companies that presented today who were forced to cram some complex ideas into five minutes,” Williams said.